Triple condiment shaker



May 7, 1968 Kou.c.YAo ET AL 3,381,859

TRIPLE CONDIMENT SHAKER Filed July 10, 1967 \(Ou..b.

Gouza gal lNVENTORS End T A TORNEY United States Patent 3,381,859 TRIPLECONDIMENT SHAKER Kou C. Yao and Anna Yao, both of 11841 Wagner St.,Culver City, Calif. 90230 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No.563,242, July 6, 1966. This application July 10, 1967, Ser. No. 652,282

4 Claims. (Cl. 222142.4)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A triangular shaped shaker-type holder forgranular condiments is described in the following specification, theholder being constructed so that several different condiments may behoused in a single holder and independently dispensed therefrom.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser.No. 563,242 filed July 6, 1966.

Background of the invention Condiment holders are known which haveseparate compartments for the different condiments, and which aredesigned so that the condiments may be selectively discharged from thevarious compartments.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedstructure for such a multi-compartment condiment holder. To that end,the holder of the present in vention is constructed to have a triangularshape to facilitate the independent discharge of the condiments from theseparate compartments, and so that clusters of the holders may beconveniently stored in a compact area.

The holder of the invention, as will be described, is constructed tohave dispensing openings for the several compartments protected by aslidable cover. The cover is shaped to form an umbrella over theopenings when they are open to protect the openings from dust and otherforeign materials. Moreover, the cover may be moved to a positionwherein its sides completely close the dispensing openings, so as toretain the condiments in their separate compartments when the holder isnot in use.

The holder of the present invention is relatively simple to produce. Theillustrated embodiment, for example, is composed of but two moldedparts, that is, a cover and a container. The container, for example, isshaped as an equilateral triangle and it is equally divided into threeseparate compartments by internal partitions which are integral with oneanother and with the side and bottom walls of the container.

Summary of the invention The condiment holder of the present inventionincludes a container which has a triangular shape, and which hasinternal partitions defining three separate compartments in thecontainer. The container has a closed bottom and an open top. Atriangular-shaped cover fits over the open top in a vertical slidingpress fit. The cover has a groove extending around its periphery whichreceives the upper rims of the side walls of the holder.

The cover also has a side wall which extends down over the dispensingopenings in the upper rim of the container when the cover is in a downposition on the upper end of the container, but which uncovers theopenings when the cover is moved to an up position. The cover side wallis shaped to form an umbrella over the openings when the cover is in itsup position to protect the openings from dust, or other foreignmaterials.

The side walls of the container each meet at a corresponding apex, andeach apex is rounded off, with the respective dispensing openings beinglocated at the apexes adjacent the upper rims thereof. This permits thedispensing of the condiment from each compartment, merely by tilting theholder towards the apex corresponding to that compartment so that thecondiment may be discharged through the discharge openings in thatparticular apex.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of oneembodiment of the invention, showing the configuration of the containerand of the cover, and showing the cover in its up" position so as toexpose the discharge openings;

FIGURE 2 is a cross section of the container, taken essentially alongthe lines 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are side sections of the container, taken essentiallyalong the lines 4-4 .of FIGURE 2, and respectively showing the cover inits down position and in its up position; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a plurality of containers, such as thecontainer of FIGURE 1, showing the containers, on a reduced scale,conveniently stored in a compact area.

Description of the illustrated embodiment The holder illustrated in thedrawing includes a container 10 which is shaped as an equilateraltriangle, as shown. The container 10 has an open top, and has integralside and bottom walls. The angles of the container are rounded off, asshown, and dispensing openings 12, 14 and 16 are provided adjacent theupper rim at each apex of the triangle.

An integral partition, such as the partitions 18, 20 and 22, projectsfrom the longitudinal center of each side wall of the container 10 andperpendicular to each side Wall; the partitions meeting at a common axisin the center of the container which is perpendicular to the bottomwall. As best shown in FIGURE 2, the partitions 18, 20 and 22 separatethe container into three independent compartments, each having its ownset of dispensing openings 12, 14 and 16.

The holder includes a removable triangular cover 30 which, as shown, hasside walls 32 and interior walls 34 which overlie the rims of the sidewalls of the container and the rims of the partitions respectively. Theedges of the side walls and interior walls of the cover are providedwith grooves which accommodate the rims of the container side walls andof the partitions, as shown, for example, in FIGURES 3 and 4.

As best shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the cover may be moved to a downposition (FIGURE 3) in which the side wall 32 of the cover completelyencloses the dispensing openings 12, 14 and 16. In such a position, theholder may be packed, or otherwise transported, without spilling thecondiments out of its compartments.

When the holder is to be used, the cover 30 may be moved to its upposition (FIGURE 4) in which the dispensing openings are uncovered,permitting the condiments to be dispensed. When the cover is in theposition of FIGURE 4, it will be appreciated that the condiments fromany of the compartments may be dispensed, independently of the othercompartments, merely by tilting the holder towards the apexcorresponding to the desired compartment. Suitable indicia may beincluded on the outer surfaces of the container side walls, indicatingthe condiments contained in the respective compartments.

The side walls 32 of the cover are provided with a flange 32a at thelower end thereof. The flange 32a extends outwardly and downwardly, andit forms an umbrella over the dispensing openings of the container whenthe cover is in its up position. This flange serves as a protection ofthe openings, in that it prevents dust O or other foreign matter fromgathering around the openings.

As shown in FIGURE 5, a plurality of the dispensers 10 may beconveniently stored adjacent one another in a compact space, and theholders of the invention are shaped so that they may also be stacked ontop of one another.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, modifications may be made. It is intended in the claims tocover all modifications which come within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A triangular shaped holder for confining condiments, such as salt andpepper, in separate compartments thereof, for selective dischargetherefrom, said holder comprising:

an open topped triangular container having side and bottom walls, theapexes of the container being provided with respective groups ofdispensing openings positioned adjacent the upper rim of the container;

interior partitions positioned in the container and forming separatecompartments around respective groups of said dispensing openings;

a removable triangular cover having a top wall, side walls and interiorwalls, the edges of said cover side walls being provided with grooveswhich receive the upper rims of said container side walls when saidcover is placed on said container, said cover being vertically slidableon the container from an upper position in which the dispensing openingsare open and a lower position in which said cover side walls close saiddispensing openings.

2. The holder defined in claim 1 wherein each of said partitionscomprises an integral partition projecting from the longitudinal centerof each side wall and perpendicular to each side wall, the integralpartitions meeting at a common axis in the container perpendicular tosaid bottom wall and forming three equal compartments in the container.

3. The holder defined in claim 1 in which the lower edges of said coverside walls are provided with an outwardly and downwardly extendingflange adapted to form an umbrella for the dispensing openings of saidcontainer when said cover is in its upper position.

4. The holder defined in claim 1 in which the apexes of the containerand of the cover are rounded off.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 553,580 1/1896 Frye 222l42.11,215,018 2/1917 Grossman 222142.6 2,566,004 8/1951 Von Duyke 222--142.42,679,952 6/1954 Carpenter 222142.4 3,120,909 2/1964 Miller 2225223,323,683 6/1967 Cianciolo 222142.6

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

F. R. HANDREN, Assistant Examiner.

